dubbed M2A2 made it more favorable to airborne forces and special forces, especially because it could be fired from the hip, thanks to the advanced recoil mechanism. A fiber optic technology scope and eyepiece imaging system was developed (or at least proposed) to allow use of a hip-fired M2A2 for VIP protection purposes. Although the 12.7×108mm was considered one of the most powerful, Fellegi decided it was not good enough. He then ordered the development of the M3, with a larger 14.5×114mm. With this new destructive capability also came increased accuracy and range, making the M3 the most popular of the Gepárd rifles. Nevertheless, three more models were to follow. The M4 and M5 sought to become improvements on the M2, with stronger materials and better reliability. The new versions have a more rectangular look and are usually of blackened steel finish, while M1 – M3 were usually painted olive-green colour. Gepárd M5 is a bolt-action rifle for military sharpshooters and weighs only 13 kilograms, while the M4 is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle. The 10-round drum magazine, so characteristic of the M2 and M3, was replaced with a straight box magazine design with a capacity for five rounds. The later M4 and M5 can fire either Russian or NATO 12.7 mm ammunition as the gun barrel is field replaceable. The M3 is strictly an anti-materiel rifle, because while the 14.5mm round is extremely powerful, its accuracy degrades rapidly at ranges beyond 1000 meters. Its high destructive power is efficient in taking out hovering helicopters, APCs or mobile radar stations. Finally, the Gepárd rifle family concluded with the M6, now called "GM6 Lynx". This rifle used the 12.7×108mm and .50 BMG rounds, like the M2 and M4, but featured stronger parts, lighter weight, shorter length and an improved scope. The production history of the Gepárd was bumpy, since it was designed and prototyped at the end of communist rule and first production runs happened during the early-1990s, as Hungary transitioned to a market economy. Early examples were assembled at the Vízgépészeti Vállalat (Hydrotechnic State Company). Production and development of Gepárd currently happens at Báthory-Épszolg Kft. (GM6 is manufactured by SERO Kft.), which also produces the new "Szép 7.62×51mm" bolt-action sniper rifle for Hungarian army and anti-terrorist police units. This smaller, standard caliber sniper rifle owes a lot of design elements to the Gepárd, since its designer, Ferenc Szép, also participated in